Aeryn went and sat by a tree near a fire and looked around into the night and around thr dark surroundings. H\e shivered and sighed, trying to sharpen the dull blade with a rock.

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Just became a college freshman; be on sparingly

[mind if I powerplay a bit]

Orindil used the remainder of his herbs to mitigate the injured men's pain. Naidele's fire was a warm respite to the wasteland's bitter chill, and Nakaida proved quite adept at stalling the cold winds.

When at last they'd done all they could, Orindil made his way out towards where Aeryn, as well as the other unwounded warriors from the Revolution, stood watch. He attempted his best at masking his own exhaustion as he spoke quietly, "Get some rest. I'll take your shift."

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"You've been healing. You need your rest and need to keep your strength. I'm not that tired. You go rest." Aeryn said, looking at him.

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Just became a college freshman; be on sparingly

When she was finished helping the group of men, Naidele walked over to Nakaida. She wanted to talk about the feeling that they both had gotten. About why they knew they needed to go to that place, Navhieri.

"I know you felt the Goddess," she said to her in a low whisper, so that the group of men they had run into earlier would not hear, "But do you know why she wants us to go to Navhieri? What could make it so urgent?"

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Khienro, ignoring all the talk an comotion, headed for the most comfortable pile of dirt he could find. Once he found it, he landed atop the mound with a thud. Sighing, he briefly thought about what he had gotten into, and why on earth he was here, but then the other side of his mind reminded him about his feelings for Naidele. Smiling, he fell asleep.

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You may (or may not) know me elsewhere as Elfpen

With an apprehensive glance about them Nakaida steered her sister to a shadowed place beyond the circle of firelight. "I heard her voice," she whispered, searching Naidele's face. "That one word, and an image. That's all."

She wrapped her arms about herself as if to ward off some chill wind. "I can't help but wonder why she won't speak directly, Naidele...unless there was something stopping her." Nakaida's blue eyes were steady but troubled, and her next words were very faint. "Have we done more harm than good by stopping Okandar?"

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Naidele bit her lip and pressed her fist to her stomach, trying to rid herself of the anxiety and fear that was welling up in her gut. "I don't know, Nakaida," she said softly, voice tinged with worry, "I don't know."

She thought silently for a moment about the Goddess and why she wouldn't, or probably more accurately: couldn't, speak to them at length. Always, the Keepers had had a direct connection with her. Now, Naidele didn't feel that closeness she had always felt with her.

"It's as if something or someone is blocking our connection with her," Naidele whispered to Nakaida. She worried at the implications of that thought. Could something be overpowering the Goddess herself?

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Nakaida nodded. She felt it too, the echoing emptiness where usually the Goddess' warm presence filled that void. "What hope is there?" she asked in barely a whisper, staring bleakly into the fire. "How can we stop it...we know nothing of this world..."

Abruptly she turned to walk away, unable to contend with the horrible uncertainty she felt. But it wasn't Naidele's fault. Nakaida glanced over her shoulder.

"I can't help but feel we've failed."

And then she was gone, beyond the circle of firelight into the dark camp.

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Naidele sighed forlornly as she watched Nakaida walk away. She tried not to let despair overwhelm her, but she couldn't help but agree with Nakaida's feeling. If they had succeeded wouldn't things be better? They couldn't have done much good if for some reason the Goddess, Mother of all Creation, was now lost to them.

She sighed again and turned to the opposite direction. She thought she had seen Khienro go off in this direction. She thought that if anything could cheer her at all that night, it would be some company.

Only a few moments later, she saw him asleep on the ground. She smiled slightly at seeing the peaceful look on his face and sat down a few feet away.

As she sat, she contemplated what was going on and what the outcome would be. Would it have been better just to stay with her sisters on the Isle of the Goddess? No, that could not have been an option. They couldn't have left the world to what horrible fate they would suffer at the hands of Okandar..... But if their defeating Okandar only served to somehow set off a chain of events that harmed the Goddess, then what good had they really done? If the Goddess was defeated.... Every man, woman, child, animal, plant.... everything would be finished. She shook her head, as if to dispel the thought. They couldn't let that happen.

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Aeryn stood watch by Khienro and Naidele. He looked down at Naidele's worried expression and knelt, looking at her. "What's troubling you, Naidele?"

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Just became a college freshman; be on sparingly

Orindil couldn't deny his exhaustion. In tacit thanks he complied and moved off to find a place to settle down. Quite to the contrary, within five minutes he found himself restlessly pacing. The evil he'd felt only hours ago, upon that hill overlooking Okandar's vanquished citadel, had seared through him, leaving not a doubt in its wake. He caught himself pondering with bleak melancholy...

Had Okandar returned?

Even in spirit, if not in physical essence. Bards' tales floated to mind, of great sorcerers and their second rise to power after the initial spurious defeat. Could Okandar have risen the same way? Or even...

No. Lord Okandar was dead by a deity's own hand. The Goddess had completed her work. The evil he'd felt earlier must have been some last vestige, something he'd left behind. Whatever the case, they would supposedly find their answers in Navhieri - or what remained of it.

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Nakaida stalked off into the darkness, not caring if the fire was in sight, not even caring if in the blackness she were to stumble and fall. She couldn't talk to anyone, not now. The thought of Orindil especially made her shrink miserably inside. What a mess they'd made of this. What a mess she'd made. They hadn't even defeated Okandar, their pathetic efforts had needed the Goddess' assistance, and now - now what?

"Sssomething troublesss you, Keeper." A voice, somehow seeming to wind sinuously about in the air around her, jolted Nakaida out of her black thoughts. For a moment she didn't answer. It spoke again. "Could it be a pair of silver eyes?"

Silver eyes? Orindil? Too well she knew. But of course that wasn't what troubled her. "No," she said aloud, turning helplessly roundabout in the dark, stumbling further into the night.

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Orindil came to with a jolt. Wondering what'd provoked this sudden vigilance, he scanned the camp for his companions. Aeryn, Naidele, and Khienro were all preoccupied with their own thoughts across the campfire. But where was Nakaida? He stood, his concerned gaze roaming his surroundings.

No Nakaida. Anxious now, he moved to the edge of camp where he'd last seen her.

"Ye lookin' fer the lass?" He spun to face a wounded human soldier lying by the campfire. The same man managed a small gesture towards the west. "She went off that way, if ye be wonderin'."

As if that settled it, Orindil nodded his thanks and set off into the darkness.

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Naidele came to attention with a small jump. She managed a small wavering smile as she looked at Aeryn. But the smile disappeared as her thoughts returned to what she had been dwelling on for a while, what she couldn't figure out.

She spoke softly so as not to wake the still sleeping, Khienro. "I'm not sure..." she admitted, "Something's wrong." She didn't want to frighten him, but she knew it was only fair to keep him informed. "Nakaida and I both feel it something's.... wrong...." She trailed off.

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Khienro was atop a giant building, stone pillars shooting up from the stone floor every few feet. He wandered around, trying to escape the hot inferno that it was becoming. He ran about the pillars, trying to save his bare feet. Then all of the stone pillars came to life, forming the shapes of demons, coming at him with clubs, swords, and spiked maces. But the cieling had no support now, and was crumbling. It was falling, falling... falling...... He was then in an abyss, a void filled with nothingness. Many people and places came into sight, Naidele, His mother, Orindil, Aeryn, Nakaida... They all were there. But then, one by one, they all dissapeared, dissolving into the air until only his mother and Naidele remained. then, his mother sank to the ground, screaming as if hell itself had opened it's dark mouth upon her. Then, the part of his heart that still seemed to be beeting was crushed as he saw Naidele, choking and screaming, engulfed in her own flames. They both dissapeared, but their heart-wrenching screams remained. Okandar swirled into the scene from the billowing smoke...

Khienro awoke with a huge gasp. Sitting up straight, he looked right over Naidele's shoulder, but saw nothing.

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You may (or may not) know me elsewhere as Elfpen

Naidele almost jumped out of her skin when Khienro bolted upright from where he was laying. She placed a trembling hand to her fluttering heart, trying to calm herself once again.

When her eyes landed on Khienro's face, she cocked her head to the side a little and a worried expression came over her face. "Khienro?" she said his name softly. "What is it? What's wrong?"

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I'm back!